Belmadi Slimane was all smiles after he led France to a 3-2 win over Brazil in the 2017 FIVB Volleyball Boys' U19 World Championship
Riffa, Bahrain, August 18, 2017 – France coach Belmadi Slimane directed his players to a tactical win against Brazil in the fifth set in the 2017 FIVB Volleyball Boys’ U19 World Championship at the Isa City Sports Hall on Friday.
France coach Belmadi Slimane: It was a very hard match. It is always difficult to play against Brazil because they are very physical. They jump very high and they have strong spikes. Against Brazil, we know that we have to be technical and tactical to win the game. We had to change our tactic on attack but it was very difficult to absorb especially for young players. The good thing is we won because they believed in themselves.
France captain Lucas Soldner: We tried to match Brazil’s power and that didn’t work out in the first two sets. So we just played our game and we managed to win this game.
France player Remi Bassereau: We didn’t play well in the first two sets, but as soon as we fixed our reception, the other skills also got better. We started to play in the middle of the fifth set as our attack became more efficient, as well as our block.
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Brazil coach Leonardo Carvalho: The French are very strong. In my opinion, we had good balance in the first and second sets, but unfortunately we couldn’t play at the same level. It was an even match in the fifth set and we could win, but unfortunately we lost in small details.
They fought back in the match but we should try to play in each set and each point better. I’m not so happy because in the third and fourth set we didn't play. France deserved to win.
Brazil captain Joao Franck: We need to forget this match and keep working for the competition. We need to understand that we cannot forget to play after two sets. This is our big challenge – to try to play in our best level at all times. It’s not so easy for us young players but we need to try.